Vol. 548 No. 3
142 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development his proposals to ease the requirement for enlargement in the early retirement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4927/02]
The 1994 scheme of early retirement from farming included a requirement for the farmer taking over a holding to enlarge it and to farm the enlarged holding for the full period of the pension. Some transferees enlarged the holdings by leasing additional land for less than the full period of the pension and representations have been made to my Department that a number of these transferees are having difficulty in renewing these leases or finding alternative land. I have undertaken to raise the issue with the EU Commission, but the possibility of a change in the rules is very limited since the enlargement requirement is a provision of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2079/92, which governs the 1994 scheme. There is no enlargement requirement in the new scheme of early retirement from farming which was introduced in November 2000 and, indeed, I had raised the problems which the enlargement provision gave rise to on a number of occasions with the Commissioner. There is a viability criterion instead in the new scheme.
